19

Chapter 19

"Well on that note, let's all get to bed!" Yang announced with a laugh in her voice.

"I'd KIND of like to know about the giant robot that's supposed to chase me on Friday." Blake said with a mildly amused glare in Yang's direction. "If that's alright with you?"

Ruby nodded. "Right... well, anyway, apparently Torchwick stole a bunch of Atlesian Paladins to give to the White Fang? Although this one was really beefed up. They'd added a bunch of extra weapons, mostly laser guided anti-personal turrets..."

Blake frowned. "I've never heard of an... Atlesian Paladin. Is that a new model?"

Ruby nodded again. "Yeah. They're just about to introduce them. Actually the first time I ever heard of them was this coming Friday afternoon. General Ironwood was giving a presentation about the new Atleasian Knight-200 models. They're replacing the old 130's, and..."

Blake interrupted. "General Ironwood is going to announce them on Friday?"

Ruby nodded again. "I saw him presenting them in Vale. Well... it was a hologram of him, but..."

Blake sighed. "Well, there's something else we can check to see how accurate Ruby's... future vision is. If there's a big presentation by General Ironwood on Friday, and he introduces these... Paladins."

Pyrrha spoke up. "Ruby, you said Blake gets chased by one? Why?"

Ruby frowned. "Well, Torchwick and the ice cream girl were at the rally. And they had one of the Paladins there. And when Torchwick recognized her and Sun..."

Blake blinked. "I took Sun with me?"

Ruby shrugged. "Well, he volunteered? I think he has... had, a crush on you?"

Blake frowned. "And... Torchwick spotted us?"

Ruby nodded. "Well, you were supposed to be wearing White Fang masks, but... you didn't really change anything else. And Sun... I don't think you need to see his face to recognize him..." she giggled. "If you know what I mean."

Yang laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I could pick those abs out of a crowd."

Pyrrha giggled softly. "That boy does not seem to know what shirts are for."

Yang grinned. "Oh, I'm pretty sure he knows. But if you had abs like that, wouldn't you want to show them off?"

Pyrrha smiled at Yang. "Your abs are very nice as well, Yang, although perhaps you should refrain from wearing your shirt open like Sun does, regardless." Her eyes twinkled slightly. "Not that the view would bother me..."

Ruby grimaced. "Pyrrha, stop trying to get my sister to take her clothes off. At least in front of me?"

Pyrrha giggled. "Sorry."

Blake was picturing Yang in Sun's outfit, and did her best not to drool. "I've seen an Anime like that..."

Yang laughed. "Oh yeah! The one where they're all Ninja's, and all the girls get their clothes mostly torn off every other episode?"

Ruby had her face in her hands. "Perverts... I'm surrounded by perverts."

Pyrrha was blushing. "Which... anime was that?"

Yang chuckled. "Want to watch it with me sometime, Babe?"

Blake grinned. "I want to see you cosplay as that one girl..."

Yang looked like she was seriously considering it, then shook her head. "Nah. Don't want to traumatize Ruby TOO much." Ruby just sighed.

Pyrrha smiled at her teammates, then slowly frowned, turning to Ruby. "But... if there is going to be one of these... Paladins at the White Fang Rally, is it really safe for Blake?"

Ruby frowned. "Well, I think the reason Blake and Sun got spotted was because... well, they didn't really do anything to disguise themselves. Sun didn't even change clothes. I think they thought nobody would be there that would recognize them... but Torchwick was there, of course, and... well, that's why I thought you should wear a disguise, Blake. And probably not bring Sun unless you could convince him to... I don't know, maybe wear a shirt properly and dye his hair... and his tail?"

Blake nodded somberly. "I honestly think you're right, Ruby. With the disguise we have planned, I'll be all but unrecognizable. Especially if I'm also wearing a White Fang mask. I should be fine. I know what to say to avoid suspicion. So long as I don't directly talk to anyone I knew before, it should be fine."

Ruby nodded. "And we'll be nearby in case it isn't fine. Just... go out the window and we'll come running."

Blake looked confused. "Out the window?"

Ruby nodded again. "You said that you shot out the power box to knock out the lights and jumped out the window the last time."

Blake wrinkled her nose. "Why would I want to knock out the lights? Most faunus can see in the dark..."

Ruby blinked. "You said it was because Torchwick couldn't. So he couldn't point you out, I guess?"

Blake nodded in understanding. "Right! Yes, if he couldn't point us out, that would have given me time to escape in the confusion."

Ruby nodded. "Except I guess he jumped in the Paladin and chased you and Sun out of the building. It was crazy. You got onto the highway and Torchwick wrecked like... dozens of cars. And then Weiss put down an ice slick and Torchwick slipped and fell off the highway, and then we all finally caught up and started fighting in this abandoned yard under the highway."

Yang grinned. "And Pyrrha kicked his ass, I bet?"

Ruby shook her head slowly. "No... Pyrrha wasn't there. It was just team RWBY and Sun and Neptune."

Yang frowned. "Sun and Neptune? But not Pyrrha?"

Ruby shook her head again. "Pyrrha was on team JNPR. And we were trying not to get other people involved. It's just... Sun kind of was hanging outside our window while we were planning... and invited himself and Neptune along."

Blake blinked. "Sun was spying on us through the window?"

Ruby looked surprised. "Um... yes?"

Blake stood up and went over to the window in question, opened it, and looked around outside. There was nothing outside, although the movement startled some birds out of a nearby tree. "We should... remember to keep the windows closed when we talk about this sort of thing." She decided, closing the windows and, for good measure, shutting the curtains as well.

Ruby shrugged, looking unconcerned. "Sun's cool. He'd just want to help if he found out."

Blake frowned. "Sun doesn't know you as well as we do. He'd probably think you were crazy. Maybe even report all this to a professor."

Ruby shook her head. "Noooo. Sun is a rebel. He'd probably just stick around to find out the truth for himself."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you know him pretty well."

Ruby shrugged. "He used to hang out near us a lot. I mean... he really had a serious crush on you. You went to the dance with him and everything."

Blake's eyes went wide. "I... I took him to the dance? We were dating?" She swallowed. "Then, before... you and I weren't...?"

Ruby ducked her head, blushing. "I... I wasn't dating anyone last time. I... I didn't even realize I liked girls. That..." she gestured to Blake then herself. "Us... this is the first time we've..." she trailed off. "You know."

Blake smiled softly. "We were at least friends, last time, I hope?"

Ruby nodded quickly. "Best friends. We were all super close..." she hesitated. "I mean... you and Weiss did kind of argue a lot until she found out you used to be part of the White Fang..."

Blake winced. "I take it that it didn't go quite as well as it did... this time through?"

Ruby shuddered. "It was awful. You two were fighting about the White Fang for like... a whole day. Just non-stop. And finally you kind of... I don't know, you yelled that..." She wracked her head. "Maybe we'd had enough!' or something like that. We meaning the White Fang. It was pretty clear what you'd meant. And then you got all scared and ran off."

Blake paled. "Oh. Oh." She swallowed. "Wow. Er... did... did we make up after that?"

Ruby nodded. "We all did... but before that you were hiding in Vale for two days. We looked everywhere for you. Weiss was complaining about it the whole time, but I think she was actually really worried about you too."

Blake sighed. "Wow. I... I'm actually surprised you found me. I can't imagine... if it came out like that, I... I wouldn't be surprised if I considered leaving Vale entirely."

Ruby bit her lip. "Well, I don't know WHAT would have happened, but... well, we only found you because we followed the explosions."

Yang perked up at this. "There were explosions?"

Ruby nodded. "Blake and Sun were fighting Torchwick at the docks. Penny and I barely got there in time to save them."

Blake blinked once, then twice. "So... the reason you knew about Torchwick being at the docks... was that I found out about it in the first place?"

Ruby nodded. "Sun had heard something about the big Schnee dust shipment, and you and him went there hoping that you WOULDN'T find the White Fang there. But they were there, and Torchwick, and I guess you tried to grab Torchwick and demand answers. And it kind of didn't go that great." She brightened. "But Penny and I saved you, and Yang and Weiss found us, and Weiss forgave you... and we were all OK again."

Yang shook her head. "So you've been using the crib notes the whole time? We've all been thinking you were some sort of tactical genius!"

Ruby turned scarlet. "Hey! Professor Ozpin made me leader the first time too! I am pretty good at thinking up plans and stuff..." she poked her fingers together. "I mean... OK, I've been cheating a little this time... but... wouldn't you?"

Yang shrugged and grinned. "I'd cheat my ass off, sure. I'm just saying, it kind of makes a lot of things clearer. No wonder you're doing so well in classes. You've already had them all. You've already taken every test, written every paper..."

Ruby wrinkled her nose. "Well, it's not like I had all my tests memorized. But I guess classes have been a lot easier. I did actually pay attention the first time through, you know."

Yang's eyes sparkled. "Hey... does that mean you can hook us up with what's going to be on our tests this semester?"

Ruby hesitated. "I... could help a little? I mean, I know what subjects we're going to study, and I do remember some details..."

Pyrrha frowned. "Yang... are you really suggesting we use your sister's... future knowledge to cheat on tests?"

Yang shrugged unrepentantly. "It's not cheating. It's... extra studying. While knowing what the tests are going to be on."

Pyrrha sighed. "I suppose it wouldn't harm anything."

Ruby smiled. "Well, it's helped me a lot because it gave me more time to train..."

"So... is that something you've changed?" Blake asked curiously. "Are we... are we better than we were the last time?"

Ruby nodded. "Sure. I mean, I knew which team maneuvers worked, and which didn't. I've had to come up with some new stuff... since Weiss isn't on our team anymore, and Pyrrha is, but all the stuff with you and Yang has been super easy since we'd already figured that out before."

Pyrrha spoke up softly. "Ruby... could you tell me? Why you picked me to be your partner? This time through, I mean?"

Ruby shrugged. "I... well, I did kind of tell you already. Sort of. I picked you to be my partner because... because I couldn't let you die again if I could help it. I failed to save you the first time Pyrrha... I think that's why I came back in time. To save you. To save everyone." She sighed. "Except I lost Jaune, and Tuckson. It's like I'm not helping things, just... letting different people die."

Blake hugged her. "You're doing your best, Ruby. And we'll help."

Pyrrha stepped forward and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder as well. "We'll all help."

Yang regarded her teammates fondly. "Of course we will. Rubes, you should have told us all this ages ago! We can do a ton with all of this information."

Ruby hesitated. "I... I probably should have. I even thought about it. It wouldn't have been that hard. I could have told you that Jaune was going to throw up on your shoes... and what I knew about everyone. The first few days I could have predicted practically everything that happened..."

Yang winced, remembering. "I COULD have used a head's up about vomit boy... yacking on my boots." she sighed. "I mean Jaune... sorry." She sighed again. "Actually, if you do this a third time, I don't care about the boots. Let's just save him."

Ruby blinked. "A third time?"

Yang shrugged. "Well... you went back in time once. Why can't you do it again?"

Ruby shook her head. "Yang... I have no idea how... I'm not sure it was even me. I mean, my semblance is Petal Burst. People don't have two semblances."

Blake looked thoughtful. "Well, I'm not sure it's as simple as that. Look at Weiss. She says her semblance is glyphs, but look at what she can do with them! Velocity, gravity, energy attacks, time dilation..."

Ruby broke in. "Schnee's can also summon Grimm that they've defeated. Like, big constructs that do what they want. Weiss hasn't managed it yet, but... her big sister can do it, and I'm sure she could figure it out."

Blake shrugged. "Which proves my point. Semblances can be amazingly versatile. With my own semblance... Shadow, I can use it to create a distraction and give myself a boost, but I can also create explosions, ice and stone sculptures of myself to block or trap my foes... and I imagine there are probably other ways I could use it with the right types of dust..."

Yang frowned. "All I can do is absorb damage and hit stuff really hard."

Blake shrugged. "Not everyone's semblance is super versatile... but maybe Ruby can do more than just move really fast?"

Pyrrha looked thoughtful. "I don't think Ruby's semblance is simply speed, in any case. Have you noticed, sometimes in combat her petals will flow right around something? Like, all around it? I think she actually transforms into the petals... or perhaps they are a medium for short range teleportation?"

Ruby frowned. "I can't teleport. I'm just... moving really fast. I use it to speed up and hit things harder."

Yang looked thoughtful. "Maybe... but has anyone tried to hit you when you were all... petal cloudy?"

Ruby nodded. "Mercury kicked me out of my semblance once." She frowned. "I... don't really think about how my semblance works. I just want to go somewhere, and I do."

Pyrrha shook her head. "Well, perhaps time travel is an advanced use of your semblance? I have noticed that your... petal clouds can be more solid sometimes. Sometimes your petals are like a solid mass... others, you're much more... diffuse."

Blake nodded in interest. "That's true. Maybe Ruby can... teleport. And if she can do that, then maybe she could travel in time too?"

Ruby shook her head. "No... if I could travel in time with my semblance, then why was I in my younger body when I returned to the past? I know I got younger again. It wasn't much, but I could tell the difference." She frowned. "And... the bright light I saw. I was blinded by it, it was so bright. I've never seen that when using my semblance before."

Yang frowned. "Maybe someone else did do something to you. Or maybe it isn't anything we can explain... but... if you COULD do it again..."

Ruby shook her head. "I... I don't want to do it again. I don't want to lose all of you."

Yang broke in. "But if you could save more people... Jaune, and..."

Ruby winced. "I... OK, I guess if I could save Jaune and Tuckson... I'd do it again." She sighed. "I just... I really... I really like some things about this... about where we are now." She reached out and grabbed Blake's hand and squeezed it. "I don't want to lose this."

Blake squeezed back. "I don't blame you. I wouldn't want to lose what we have either." She wrinkled her nose. "Still... if you can actually... teleport..." She seemed to struggle with explaining her thought. "OK, bear with me, this is kind of out there, but... if you teleport, then you're... kind of disintegrating yourself and turning back into yourself at the far end, right?"

Ruby shuddered. "Gah! Blake! I did not need that mental image!"

Blake winced. "Sorry... but listen. Listen. If you could do that... then, at an extreme, maybe... maybe you could send your... I don't know, your consciousness back using your ability... and when you got to the past, you just... merged with your old self? Like, you turned into energy and that energy becomes you again, but if there's a you already there, you just... join with your past self?"

Pyrrha looked thoughtful. "It sounds... almost plausible. And semblances can do such amazing things. Why not?" She turned to Ruby. "Obviously you were under tremendous stress that day. The day you went back. Unimaginable stress, seeing your friends dying, your sister... maimed... Beacon in ruins... everything you described, it would drive anyone to the very edge. If anything could trigger a semblance into doing something... beyond what they'd ever tried to do before... well, a day like that... a day like that could push you into trying something you thought was impossible."

Ruby looked around the room at her team. "You kind of sound like you're starting to believe me."

Pyrrha blinked. "Well... at the very least, I'm inclined to believe it is possible."

Yang nodded. "I mean, I want to see some stuff happen the way you say it will before I'm going to completely buy into the whole idea... but..." she shrugged. "I just... I trust you, Sis. You wouldn't lie about something this big."

Blake nodded. "I... well, I have to agree with Yang. I WANT to believe. And I do believe you believe, and it would explain so much..." she looked apologetic. "It's not that I don't believe you. I just... I'd like to see some evidence."

Ruby nodded quickly. "Yeah! I totally get that. And... well, even though I've changed a lot of things, I can probably predict a few more things before they happen. If that'd help."

Blake smiled. "Tomorrow, maybe? It's... it's really getting late."

Ruby nodded quickly. "Sure. Well... tomorrow..." She trailed off, thinking hard. "I think... I think I can arrange to set things up so we can see Neptune hit on Weiss?"

Yang grinned ferally. "Oh yeah. THAT I have to see. I'm in. So... what's the plan?"

Ruby grinned back. "Well, this is what we're going to need to do..."

/-/

They found team WJNR in the library the next day. There was a test in Professor Port's Grimm studies class, and Ren was pouring through an old text on Grimm anatomy, while Nora was trying not to fall asleep at his side. Weiss was flipping idly through a history textbook, trying not to look bored.

Team RPBY walked up, Yang carrying a box of "Remnant, the Game" under her arm, and she and Ruby started setting up.

Pyrrha looked around nervously, then snapped her fingers loudly, and sighed dramatically. "I am... sorry... everyone. But I cannot play with you today. I have forgotten to... study for..." she glanced at the textbook Weiss was reading. "For Dr. Obleck's class tomorrow."

Ruby sighed dramatically. "But we can't play a game with only three people!" She protested loudly, turning to Weiss. "Weiss! Come play with us! I know you're ready for Obleck's test tomorrow! You're always way ahead in class."

Weiss looked surprised. "Um... what?"

Ruby gestured to the table and the game they'd been setting up. "Come play with us, Weiss! You don't need to study for Obleck's test anymore, do you?"

Weiss hesitated, glancing down at the book she had been, indeed, reading for the second time that day. "Well, I suppose I HAVE studied enough." She got up and wandered over curiously. "Now... what is this you're doing exactly?"

As Ruby excitedly started explaining the rules of the day, Pyrrha borrowed Weiss's history textbook and sat down at the table with Jack, Nora and Ren and started to read, or at least to pretend to. She was... slightly put out that she had to sit out the game in order for Ruby's plan to succeed, but as Ruby had explained it, they needed Sun to introduce Neptune to Weiss... which might not happen if Weiss wasn't at the table when Sun arrived. Ruby had also cheated a little. Since Sun wasn't actively stalking Blake anymore, given the fact that it was now pretty common knowledge that she and Blake were dating, she'd texted Sun, telling him that they were in the library and inviting him to come hang out.

Ruby was happy to find that Blake was actually getting into it this time, rather than being distracted and uninterested as she had been during the first timeline. Still, she was worried that Sun might not show up. However, sure enough, just as they started really getting into the game, Sun came into the library and headed their way, followed by a blue-haired boy with a red jacket and goggles on his forehead, just as Ruby had predicted.

"Sup losers!" Sun called out casually.

"Hey Sun!" Ruby called back cheerfully.

Sun nodded his way around at everyone at the table. "Ruby, Yang, Blake... Ice Queen."

Weiss looked annoyed. "Why does everyone keep calling me that?"

Sun continued, ignoring the comment. "I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend."

The boy with the blue hair was looking at the game dubiously. "Uh... aren't libraries for reading?"

Ren raised both hands in exasperation. "Thank you!"

"Pancakes!" Nora blurted out, coming awake suddenly.

"Shut up, don't be a nerd." Sun told his friend dismissively.

"Intellectual, thank you." Sun's companion replied, then turned to the group. "I'm Neptune."

Weiss was looking at the blue haired boy in some interest. "So Neptune... where are you from?"

"Haven." Neptune said as he came around the table to stand next to Weiss. "And I don't believe I've caught your name, Snow Angel."

Yang had to choke back a startled laugh, and Weiss glared at her, then smiled winningly at Neptune. "I'm Weiss."

At the table nearby, Jack Spriggin glared daggers at Neptune's back.

Sun glanced at Ruby. "So, what's up, short stuff?"

Ruby blinked once at the change from the original timeline, then rolled with it. "Nothing much, Sun. We were just all done studying for the day, and you were pretty cool at the docks. I thought it'd be nice to just hang out, you know, instead of battling criminals."

Sun grinned and pretended to shoot her with a finger. "Cool. So... room for some more at this table?"

They played the rest of the game out with rather different results than the previous time. Neptune volunteered to be Weiss's 'strategic commander' to help out the relative newby and Sun hung out between her and Blake, alternatively flirting with both her AND Blake. Ruby figured it was just his way of interacting with girls, and he was pretty funny... and he never made her feel uncomfortable. She felt almost... grown up as she flirted back a little, winking at Blake and giggling in turns at Sun's antics.

After the game, which Neptune and Weiss had handily won, the blue-haired Haven student being remarkably talented at the tactics involved, apparently, team RPBY retreated back to their dorms.

"So... what's going on with you, Sun and Blake, sis?" Yang asked curiously, then grinned wickedly. "Going to add mister 'I don't know how shirts work' to your harem?"

Ruby blushed. "I am not adding Sun to... and I don't have a harem!"

Pyrrha giggled softly. "He seemed to be interested in the both of you though." she agreed. "And I believe he does know that you are dating. Perhaps he'd like to date you both?"

"Nooo..." Ruby disagreed, then blinked. "No! I mean... do you think so?"

Yang grinned. "Well, if you and Blake both like the guy... then, why not?"

Ruby went beet red and Blake blushed slightly as well. "I am quite happy with Ruby alone, thank you." Blake said finally. "Sun seems... nice. But I'm taken."

Pyrrha let Yang tease the two of them for another minute or so, then interrupted. "I do believe we're ignoring the point of this afternoon. Ruby's prediction turned out to be correct."

Yang sobered up, nodding. "Yeah. I mean, Weiss liked the guy at first glance, right? That wasn't just me?"

Blake shook her head. "She likes him alright. He's not the first guy to use that line on her either, but this time she smiled. I think she was even flirting a little."

Yang nodded quickly in agreement. "It was subtle, but Weiss NEVER flirts. No, she absolutely likes the guy." She turned to her sister. "What's next? Anything else you can predict?"

Ruby looked worried. "I'm not sure... and I thought you believed me now?"

Yang shrugged. "Well, I do... at least I'm really, really close to buying the whole thing, but..." she held her hands out wide. "This is kind of cool... I want to see more."

Blake nodded. "I can't deny, it's fascinating, knowing what's going to happen."

"It's terrifying." Pyrrha said somberly. "Because now we know what's coming isn't just something in Ruby's head."

Yang sobered up quickly. "OK yeah. I DON'T like the idea of you getting killed, Pyr."

Pyrrha smiled warmly, then frowned. "Or you losing an arm..."

Yang shrugged. "Well... you AND Dad kept telling me not to lead with my right. Guess I should listen. Kind of sounds like good advice right about now."

Ruby frowned at her big sister. "It was good advice even when you didn't know you were going to lose that arm."

Yang put up her hands defensively. "Yeah... but there's no way I'm forgetting it NOW. I mean... I LIKE my arms. I really don't want to lose one."

Blake broke in. "It's more than just us we have to save. Ruby said that... that Beacon had fallen. That the Grimm had overrun it and the tower was destroyed..."

Ruby cut in. "Well, the top was, anyway. I think Pyrrha and Cinder must have been fighting inside Ozpin's office when the tower came down?"

Pyrrha blinked. "We were in Professor Ozpin's office? I wonder why?"

Ruby shook her head. "I have no idea. Maybe she was trying to steal something from him?"

Pyrrha frowned. "What could possibly be valuable enough that someone would... would use the Grimm, and terrorists, and threaten to destroy all of Vale to retrieve?"

Ruby shook her head again. "That's the part I never understood. Why is Cinder doing all of this? The Breach, and the attack on the school? What was it all for? It doesn't make any sense!"

Yang reached over and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "It doesn't matter, because we'll stop them before it gets that far. So... tell us. What happens next? What can we do to stop them NOW, before things get out of hand."

Ruby hesitated. "Well... Friday is the White Fang rally... and then, the next big thing would be the school dance."

Blake broke in. "What happens at the dance?"

"Not at the dance." Ruby corrected. "At the same time. You see, I was sneaking out... Yang made me wear some stupid lady stilts and I've never been a really... dancey prancy sort of girl, and... well, I spotted someone moving over the rooftops. Someone all in black, wearing a mask. I followed her to the tower. She had a big lead on me, and by the time I reached the base of the tower... well, I spotted an Atlesian soldier unconscious outside the front doors, so I called my rocket locker to get Crescent Rose and went inside after her." Ruby paused, remember that night. "By the time I got inside, she'd already taken out a half dozen more guards and taken an elevator upstairs. I saw which floor the elevator stopped on, so I called it down and went up to the same floor. When I got out, it was full of computers... and when I called out, she stepped out from behind one... then before I could tell her to take off her mask, she..."

Ruby frowned hard, concentrating. "She... she had something in her hands... a jar of dust, maybe? She summoned a bunch of shards of... well, glass, I think? And shot them at me like bullets." She closed her eyes and made vague gestures with her hands as if reliving the moves she herself had used. "I spun Crescent Rose and deflected them, and then I started shooting. She... she parried the bullets with her hand... only there were little flashes of light each time, like she was destroying the bullets with fire?"

Ruby looked up. "That's what made me realize... well, later, that it was the same person who was in the Bullhead who rescued Torchwick on the day he robbed from Dust till Dawn. Because the way she blocked my rounds... it was exactly the same. The same movements, the same flashes of light when my rounds should have connected."

Pyrrha looked interested. "Are you sure she just wasn't absorbing the damage with her Aura?"

Ruby shook her head. "Aura doesn't make flashes... at least not like that, like the bullets were being destroyed half a foot from her hand. And then she kind of spun around, and made a pair of swords. They were black, like... like they were obsidian."

Blake interrupted. "She MADE swords?"

Ruby nodded. "Her clothing glowed red first... General Ironwood said later she must have infused Dust into her clothing? Anyway... she made a pair of swords, but I just charged in, swinging, and she jumped backwards... and turned her swords into a bow... with three arrows. The arrows all exploded when they hit the floor in front of me."

Ruby frowned, trying to remember. "And then... I heard the elevator door open behind me, and I glanced back. It was General Ironwood! But when I turned around again, she was gone."

Yang broke in. "And you're sure it was Cinder?"

Ruby nodded firmly. "I'm certain. She used the same bow to... to shoot Pyrrha. You know me, Yang. I never forget a weapon. And... well, we saw flames from the tower, and the way she incinerated Pyrrha? Fire... and glass weapons. It was her all three times. I'm absolutely sure. I saw her face clearly the last time. When the light came... her face was the last thing I remember. She looked... frightened?" Ruby shook her head. "I don't know why, really. I was in no state to... well, I wasn't... I wasn't in any state to fight. I fell... I collapsed... I..." she shook her head. "I think I was going into shock or something. What I should have done was taken her HEAD off... but I just crumpled..."

Yang moved in and hugged Ruby. "Hey... from the sounds of it you'd been fighting for hours... and everything you saw? Nobody would blame you for that being one straw too many." She smiled softly. "And you did better than take Cinder's head off. You came back so you can stop her from doing any of it. Right?"

Ruby shrugged. "I guess... if it was me doing that at all." Her face hardened. "But we will stop her. I'll do whatever it takes."

Blake nodded in support. "We all will."

Pyrrha was frowning. "Glass... and fire. I'm not surprised she defeated me. It sounds like she doesn't use metal weapons at all. If she's skilled enough, and I couldn't counter with my semblance, well... she would be a very difficult opponent for me." She looked at Ruby. "Which is why you've been pressing me to learn to use my semblance more offensively? Because you knew that if I faced Cinder again, she'd beat me as I was?"

Ruby nodded slowly. "That's most of it, yes. We'll be fighting a lot more White Fang though... and robots... and I figured when things get bad, we'll need every trick we can get."

"Well, you're not going to have to face this Cinder bitch alone this time, Babe." Yang assured her. "Fire? Bring it on. I'll show her fire."

"That's when we should stop her." Blake said firmly. "We can catch her during the dance. If we wait till she's already broken into the tower, we'll catch her red-handed, and if we're ALL there, we'll be able to stop her, no problem."

Ruby frowned. "Well, I'm not sure it'll be quite that simple... but I agree. We should plan to catch Cinder at the tower on the night of the dance. If we can catch her there... she won't be able to finish her plan. Whatever it is." She sighed. "But... I think we'll still have to go to Mountain Glen. The White Fang will still have everything they need to blow a hole in the middle of Vale and bring in a horde of Grimm into the middle of the city... and nobody is going to believe us if we tell them about it. We'll have to go there ourselves and stop them."

Yang looked curious. "What did we do the first time?"

Ruby shrugged. "Well, when General Ironwood and Professor Ozpin were questioning me after Cinder attacked the CCT, I pretended I'd heard her say something about the south east, right? And then I got us the Search and Destroy mission in the south east, and Ozpin approved it. He sent Dr. Obleck with us, and they knew we were there looking for the White Fang. But I know they didn't expect things to be as crazy as they were."

"A train filled with bombs and dust... crashing up from the old subway into the middle of Vale." Blake summed up. "Leading a horde of Grimm from Mountain Glenn."

Ruby nodded. "We searched all day but we didn't find anything... aside from a whole lot of Grimm. But that night, while I was on watch, Zwei went out to... well, do his business and..."

Yang interrupted. "Wait, we took Zwei with us on a mission?"

Ruby nodded. "The day after the dance, dad sent us Zwei in the mail, along with a bunch of dog food, because he was going out on a mission."

Yang blinked. "And... you brought him on the mission?"

Ruby blushed lightly. "I hid him in my bag and told him to stay quiet. Nobody noticed till we'd already gotten to Mountain Glenn, and Professor... Doctor Obleck thought it was a great idea! He was really pleased to have Zwei along."

Yang choked. "Professor Obleck was the professional huntsman for our first mission?"

"Doctor Obleck." Ruby corrected. "He doesn't like to be called professor." She shrugged. "And he was great. He's stronger than he looks, and he really knows his stuff."

Yang looked dubious but Pyrrha put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure that all of Beacon's professors are more than capable."

Ruby nodded. "You should see Professor Port when he's not just talking about fighting Grimm. He's actually really strong too!"

Yang and Blake both looked incredulous. "You mean... those weren't all just stories?"

Ruby shrugged. "Well... I've seen him in action, and he's really strong. So... probably not? I listen to his stories a bit more now, and I'm pretty sure most of them really happened. Maybe not exactly the way he tells them, but..."

Yang whistled. "Huh. I really wouldn't have called that."

Blake shook her head wryly. "Well, I doubt Professor Ozpin hired Port because of his... teaching ability. He must be very strong, no matter how he looks."

"Never judge by appearances when it comes to huntsmen or huntresses." Pyrrha agreed quietly. "Between Aura and semblance, and just combat experience, the most harmless looking person can still be incredibly dangerous."

/-/

The rest of the week was comparatively uneventful. Blake, Yang and Pyrrha found it difficult concentrating on classes with everything Ruby had revealed to them ringing in their heads. They did their best to avoid reacting to Cinder, Mercury and Emerald when they saw them, but thankfully, outside of Combat Class, they didn't share any classes with the trio.

On that Friday, Combat Class was the last class of the day, and before class, Ruby approached Professor Goodwitch, catching her alone just inside of the classroom door before anyone else had shown up.

"Professor Goodwitch..." Ruby began cautiously. "I was planning on taking my team on a... team training exercise. For the rest of the day. Would you mind if we... skip your class today?"

Goodwitch lowered her glasses so she could peer at Ruby for several long moments over their rims, and Ruby swallowed nervously as the the older woman's eyes seemed to bore into her like lasers.

Goodwitch wrinkled her nose and switched her gaze to her oversized scroll, as if she was checking something on it. "Your team has been performing more than satisfactorily in class this year... I believe I can..." she sighed, as if unhappy with her own decision. "I can make an exception in your case... just this once." She looked back at Ruby narrowly. "I will want a report on your... team training by Monday morning. Before class. Am I clear?"

Ruby nodded quickly. "Yes professor! Thank you professor!"

Glynda Goodwitch's eyes softened very slightly. "Thanks are not necessary. Just... be careful Ruby. That goes for all of you."

Ruby hesitated for several long seconds, then nodded firmly. "We will be, Professor." Then she was hurrying away.

Rejoining the rest of her team outside the classroom, she quickly nodded to them all and led them away and back towards their dorm room.

In the privacy of their dorm, Blake started stripping off her vest and top even as they got inside, while Yang got the light brown "Fur and Hair" dye they'd gotten at a faunus friendly shop in town.

Yang gestured to the bathroom. "Come on, Blake, I'll help you with the dye job. I've done this before on my own hair, doing it for you won't take too long."

Blake nodded, wearing only a sports bra from the waist up, and Yang followed her into the bathroom, although they left the door open so they could still talk.

"How did you manage with Professor Goodwitch?" Blake said as she sat down near the sink so Yang could get to work.

"It was easy." Ruby said with a frown. "Too easy. Although she said she'll want a report on our... field exercise by Monday."

"What do you mean, Ruby?" Pyrrha asked curiously. "Why was it too easy?"

Ruby frowned harder. "I think... I think she knows what we're planning... or at least that it's not what I told her."

Blake snorted. "They know. Ozpin and Goodwitch are together on this, I bet. They know we're after the White Fang and they're letting us do it. They want us to be their hunting dogs... let us do the work so they can swoop in at the end and..."

Yang put a hand on Blake's bare shoulder. "We don't know that, Blake."

"It does not matter." Pyrrha said softly. "If they chose to use us as their pawns... well, can we say we would refuse them if they asked us outright?"

"It'd be nice to be asked." Blake grumbled.

"But they can't, can they?" Ruby asked. "They can't ask students... first year students, to go into battle against the White Fang. We had to volunteer."

"Is that what you call what we're doing?" Blake asked wryly.

Ruby nodded firmly. "They know... and we know they know, and they know we know that they..." She looked confused. "What I mean is that it's kind of a... what do they call it...?"

"A polite fiction?" Pyrrha suggested.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah, that."

Yang had finished mixing the dye and put it aside and started combing out Blake's hair, careful not to clip her ears. "You haven't washed your hair for the last day, have you?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "No, you told me not to. It's kind of icky though."

Yang grunted. "We'll give you a rinse after the dye sets. Trust me, it'll look great." She kept working till she had Blake's hair combed the way she wanted it, and she grabbed her dye brush, which she'd bought at the same time as the dye, and started working, starting from the roots and working her way outward.

Blake closed her eyes and did her best to stay still while Yang worked. "This is going to take awhile, guys..." Yang commented. "If there's anything else we need before we go, probably better get to it..."

Ruby shrugged. "No... nothing I can..." Her eyes widened. "Whoops! I forgot weapons! Hold on, I'll be right back!" She rushed out the door and was racing down the corridor as fast as she could run.

Blake blinked and started to turn her head. "What was...?"

"Stay still, Blakey!" Yang complained. "We don't want this coming out uneven."

Blake sighed and went still again, closing her eyes once more. "OK, OK. But... what did she mean by weapons? I've got Gambol Shroud..." she blinked. "Oh... do you think Gambol might be too distinctive?"

Pyrrha nodded thoughtfully. "It may just be at that. I wonder what Ruby has in mind?"

Blake wrinkled her nose. "I hope it's nothing too complicated. I don't have time to learn a new weapon."

/-/

Yang had finished brushing the dye into Blake's hair and she'd put it up in a bun on the back of the cat-faunus' head to dry. She'd also carefully applied dye to Blake's ears, although Blake had a hard time keeping her ears from not twitching at the uncomfortable sensations. But Ruby had not returned.

"Where could she have gone?" Pyrrha frowned in concern. "We don't have all that much time."

"She'll make it back in time." Yang told Pyrrha confidently. "I told her how long the dying process takes."

Blake's hair was finished drying, and Yang was helping her rinse with cold water when Ruby burst back in the door, panting hard. "I'm... I'm not late, am I?" she gasped out, carrying a medium sized brown shoulder bag over her own shoulder.

Blake came out of the bathroom, hair still wet, but very obviously brown instead of black, and looked at the bag curiously. "Is that for me?"

"Yup!" Ruby agreed, then reached inside, pulling out a holstered pistol. "Ten millimeter, semi-automatic, seventeen round mag." She said with some satisfaction. "Already loaded." She put the pistol in it's holster on Blake's bed and pulled out a collapsible baton. "Not much good against a Grimm... unless you infuse it with Aura, anyway, but it'll give you something to fight with."

Blake nodded. "I need something a civilian might carry... because hunter weapons are too recognizable."

Ruby smiled and nodded back. "Exactly. But you should be fine with these. You won't be at your best, but... they're a lot better than nothing. And if something bad does happen, you just need to get clear of the building and we'll have your back anyway."

Blake nodded. "It's heck of a lot better than going in unarmed... which I would have been tempted to do. No use going in in disguise but with Gambol Shroud on my back. Anyone I knew at the Fang... anyone I fought against, would recognize it if they took a hard look. NOT a good idea if I wanted to go unnoticed."

Ruby shook her head. "I really wish we'd thought to do all this the first time."

Blake sighed. "I can't believe I didn't. I know how to do infiltration... or I should."

Yang shrugged. "The bow DID have me completely fooled. It just fit your look so well, I never questioned it."

Blake smiled at her. "Thanks for that."

Yang grinned. "Hey, kitten, what can I say, you DO know how to accessorize."

Blake winked at her, then hefted the pistol. "I like Ruby's style of accessorizing, myself."

Ruby looked pleased. "Oh... do you like the pistol? It can be your birthday present!" She hesitated. "No... I want to get you something for your birthday, ON your birthday. That's important." She looked panicked. "AH! I don't know your birthday! Blake, when's your birthday?"

Blake blinked. "Well... we just missed it, actually. It's on June 19th."

Ruby's eyes were wide. "We missed it! No!"

Blake smiled softly. "Don't worry about it. Honestly... I never thought to ask you your birthday either."

Ruby sighed, then answered. "Mine is October 31st."

Blake nodded thoughtfully. "That's right. You said it was right after the Vital festival." She raised an eyebrow. "So you've really been sixteen this whole year, right?"

Ruby hesitated. "Mentally, I guess?"

Blake grinned. "Should we celebrate your mental birthday or your physical one?"

Ruby shrugged. "My physical one comes up first... so let's celebrate how old my body is, not my mind."

Blake licked her lips. "I'll celebrate your body." She winked and Ruby groaned while Yang laughed. Blake grinned. "Sorry... Yang's been kind of rubbing off on me a little."

"Not as much as I'd like!" Yang said with another laugh. Pyrrha looked at her unimpressed and Yang winced. "Er... sorry, Pyr."

Pyrrha shook her head. "Yang. I get first dibs on cuddles with Blake. You promised." Blake blew out a breath in shock and Pyrrha giggled. "Got you."

Yang held a hand up high and Pyrrha gave her a high five. "That's my girl!" She crowed.

"There's two of them now... and one of them's Pyrrha!" Ruby cried out in mock anguish. "How could you corrupt Pyrrha! Say it isn't so!"

Pyrrha smiled. "I'm sorry, Ruby... but I fear the damage may be irreversible."

Ruby pretended to cry on Blake's shoulder. "She's lost, Blake, it's too late for her. Save yourself!"

Yang brought out a portable hair dryer, and pointed it at Blake. "Since Ruby's back, we should hurry this up. We don't have a whole lot of time." She got busy drying Blake's hair, while Blake rolled her eyes and let her work.

In a few minutes, Yang pronounced Blake's hair to be 'good enough' and the four girls quickly started getting dressed for their trip out.

Pyrrha let her hair down and put on a ball cap and a pair of sunglasses over a hoody and jeans. Yang went with the oversized leather jacket she'd picked out at the thrift store and some rather distressed looking black jeans that were practically more rips than material. Ruby was in a teeshirt several sizes too large, a knit cap, and cargo pants. Ruby stuffed all of their weapons, including Gambol Shroud, into a big dufflebag and padded the bottom with an old blanket to soften the shape. Thus attired, team RPBY slipped out of their dorm-room window, leapt over to the nearby tree, and made their way down to the ground, where they raced over to the Bullhead docks as quickly as they could.

The Bullhead pilot didn't comment on their attire, and, just in case, Ruby and Yang distracted the man while Blake and Pyrrha boarded, not wanting him to see Blake's new look, just to be extra cautious, or to recognize the tournament champion, as he would be a lot more likely to comment to others about seeing a celebrity, however minor, compared to simply ferrying a group of students, something he did nearly every day.

While on the flight over, Blake had tied her hair back into a tight bun again, and was looking professional, if slightly severe, in a pair of horn rimmed glasses, a tan suit jacket and pencil skirt, a white blouse and narrow black tie. She completed the outfit with the slip on shoes she'd worn to spar with Pyrrha at the Xiao-Long house. Once the Bullhead had landed, the four girls had hurried around the nearest corner to get out of sight and finish preparing for their night.

"How do I look?" Blake asked nervously. She tugged slightly at her jacket, revealing the bulge of the holstered pistol underneath it.

Ruby patted her hands and adjusted the jacket back so that the gun was better hidden. "Just don't tug on your jacket like that. You're going to let everyone know you're carrying."

Blake shrugged. "Well, I AM going to a terrorist rally. I think I can get away with a gun."

Ruby blinked. "Right." She smiled. "You look great... but don't forget to wear your mask!"

Blake reached down into the brown shoulder bag Ruby had brought her and pulled out a White Fang mask. "Don't worry, I've got it." She sighed. "OK, we'd better part ways here. We don't want to be seen together by anyone else going to the rally."

Ruby brought up her scroll. "Now remember... if you want us to come get you, tap the send button on your scroll three times. That'll ping our scrolls and we'll come right to you." She shrugged. "Or start shooting. Either way."

Blake grinned. "If it's the scroll, it's because I don't need to be shooting yet. So if you don't hear gunshots... come in quiet if you can?"

Ruby nodded. "We'll try. But one way or another, if you need us, we're coming to get you."

Blake smiled. "I know. Hopefully you won't have to."

Ruby nodded back. "OK, according to the directions you got, Junior's club is actually only a couple blocks away. So we'll be a block away from Juniors, in the direction of the warehouse, hanging out and pretending we're waiting for our dates or something..."

Blake nodded. "I remember the plan, Ruby. You don't need to explain it again."

Ruby sighed. "I'm just worried. Giant robot... remember?"

Blake licked her lips. "Exactly how... big is this robot?"

Ruby grimaced. "About... twenty feet tall?"

Blake groaned. "Now I really wish I hadn't asked." She stiffened her shoulders. "It's going to be fine. Bigger they are... the harder it is for them to corner quick. Right?"

Ruby shrugged. "I'm pretty sure if it clips a building it'll just make a hole. It might slow down a little in the process though?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Ruby... this is not making me feel better."

Ruby threw up her hands. "We kicked the thing's ass the last time, and we're stronger this time through."

Blake grinned. "OK... now that makes me feel a little better." She stepped in, gave Ruby a quick but passionate kiss, then pushed herself away from the smaller girl. "For luck."

Ruby beamed shyly back. "Good luck Blake. I love you."

"Love you too." Blake said, only a little freaked out by saying the words. She hesitated, as if wanting to say something else, then turned and jogged off. She slowed down after several strides, hiked her skirt up a little, then set off again. "Damn skirt's too tight..." she grumbled under her breath.

Pyrrha, Yang and Ruby watched her go, then Yang sighed. "OK then... guess it's time for us to wander over to our street corner and pretend to be teenage gang-bangers or something?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "At least you won't have much trouble, Yang."

Yang looked annoyed. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Pyrrha patted Yang on the shoulder. "I'm sure Ruby just means you're an excellent actress."

"No, I mean she's already a violent thug!" Ruby teased, then raced quickly out of Yang's reach before her older sister could retaliate.

High overhead, a black crow with red eyes wheeled above the trio, then flew off after the fourth, following her from well over a hundred feet up as the disguised cat faunus made her way into the city on foot.

/-/

Qrow, in his bird form, settled down on top of some sort of electrical box on top of the roof of the warehouse, and peered in through the dirty skylight as the crowd of faunus gathered far below. He hopped around a bit till he could spot the Belladonna girl, noted her position, then moved around again so he could get a peek at what appeared to be a stage, complete with a large curtain with the White Fang symbol hanging from the ceiling. Qrow debated his responsibility to Oz vs his loyalty to his nieces, and sighed, then hopped back to where he could keep a better eye on Blake. All he had to do was get her out alive, and he'd get all the intel he needed. He didn't need to see the whole show himself. He still winced at what he imagined Jimmy's response to that would be. But the mission was one thing... and even if he'd been working on 'the mission' for most of his adult life, that didn't mean family wasn't important. And he'd be damned if he would lose any more family... even if the faunus girl wasn't officially part of the family, he'd seen how Ruby... how even Yang looked at the girl. She was important to them, so she was important to him too. He'd keep her safe... although for now it was better if he did so from a distance. She'd need plenty of luck to get through the night without trouble, and he wasn't going to add his own particular brand of luck to that equation if he could help it.

/-/

Blake had made it inside easily. She'd ended up tearing one side of the skirt at the hem till it had a slit going up above her knee, and it looked slightly ragged, but she didn't care. She could tell anyone who got curious she'd tripped on the way to the meeting, and she could actually run now without falling, so it was an improvement.

The looks she was getting from some of the men inside told her it wasn't doing anything to negate the whole 'if they want to try and date me, they won't think about why I might be a spy' part of the plan either. She was used to the looks she got from men... although being with Adam had put such things almost to a complete halt for the last year in the Fang, she still recognized it when she saw it, and she was getting looked at. Just... not by anyone who could recognize her. And none of them were looking at her face. It was covered by a mask, of course, but even if she'd gone without she figured she'd have a few seconds before most of them looked at her face anyway. It wasn't the most... inspiring advantage she had, but given the potential danger, she wasn't going to complain about even the smallest edge.

Blake stood in about the middle of the smaller crowd of faunus wearing civilian attire instead of White Fang uniforms. There were a dismaying amount of faunus already in uniform, however. Much more than had been in Adam's cell when she'd left his side nearly a year before, and there were another fifty or so newer recruits in the group she stood in the midst of. Not all of those would join up. She'd been at recruitment meetings before, but enough would, assuming the recruiters were still as skilled as they'd been before.

A tall man in a full face mask stepped out and began to address the crowd, and Blake faintly recognized him. He'd been one of the junior lieutenants working with Adam... which told her that Adam was almost certainly a part of this. Assuming he was still alive, anyway. Adam was monstrously strong, but she'd sworn he would never work with a human. Had Cinder Fall killed him? She wasn't sure what she preferred. Adam dead, or Adam alive, and part of something that would eventually attack Vale, attack Beacon... why would Adam agree to attack a school for hunters? Beacon trained human and faunus alike. There was some minor discrimination there, but certainly not by the faculty, and she knew of faunus huntsman and huntresses who'd graduated there. Not many had joined the White Fang, but there had been enough attempts to recruit them that she knew just how many excellent faunus hunters there were that came from Beacon. It had been one of the reasons she'd chosen the school herself.

The large man... she couldn't recall his name, she'd met him only briefly, finished his introduction, and to Blake's shock, Roman Torchwick calmly walked out onto the stage, carrying his cane and looking for all the world like he was genuinely enjoying himself. Blake schooled her expression, mask or not, she couldn't afford to be gritting her teeth and snarling at the man, and forced her body to relax. Thankfully, a large number of faunus in the crowd had started jeering at his arrival, concealing her reaction.

"What's a human doing here?" The deer faunus standing right in front of Blake shouted angrily.

"I'm glad you asked, deery!" Torchwick quipped cheerfully, and Blake forced down a groan, knowing he'd made the pun on purpose.

She did her best to pay attention to the rest of his speech, but her eyes were drawn to a girl... or at the least a very short woman, with pink and brown hair and wearing a white jacket, who was standing behind Torchwick and to his right. The girl seemed amused, but calm, was almost certainly human... and Blake realized who she must be.

'Ice cream girl.' Blake realized. 'If she's anything like what Ruby told us, she's dangerous.' Blake tried to focus on the rest of his speech, but as he snapped his fingers, and the large 'curtain' fluttered away, Blake already knew what would be behind it.

Nevertheless, she was staggered by it's size. Twenty foot tall, and nearly as wide, bristling with weapons. 'We BEAT that thing?' Blake thought incredulously. 'It's HUGE! I don't know if I could even put a scratch on it! Especially not with this pop gun in my jacket.' Blake resisted the urge to run. She glanced around and located a fuse box against one wall, and noted it's location, just in case. Shooting out the lights and running was sounding better and better... but she had a job to do, and she wasn't DONE yet. As much as she'd very much like to leave now... she couldn't. Blake forced herself to look attentively at the giant robot and pretend she was as thrilled as everyone else was about it.

Blake noted from his speech that Torchwick WAS, indeed, working for someone else, and apparently she... for Blake now had no doubts that Ruby was right, and that the mysterious Cinder Fall was who he was talking about, somehow she'd managed to steal 'a few' Atlesian Paladins. Ruby had implied that it had been more than a few, and Blake tried not to shudder. Would they have to fight dozens of those things? Roman went on about their 'new operation in the south east' and Blake almost sighed. It was all true. Every bit. She didn't know how Ruby had done it, assuming it hadn't been something done TO her, but Blake found that she really believed her now. She'd traveled in time, or seen the future. Either way, Ruby had been telling them the truth. Blake shook the wave of terror that realization provoked just in time to realize that the crowd was starting to move forward. Blake swallowed hard and did her best to blend in, shaking her arm in the air with the others, and walking slowly forward with everyone else.

This was the acid test. Normally, new recruits would be taken into the back and they'd get a separate speech, and they'd find out everyone's names and get them to commit to another meeting. One where they'd be inducted into the Fang for real. Small meetings, usually, only a few faunus at a time, because this sort of big rally was a risk, and the White Fang wouldn't show their actual headquarters to anyone till they'd been screened at least a couple more times.

Blake couldn't risk being screened more thoroughly. Even just having to drop her mask would be risky. It was more than likely that at least one of the recruiters would recognize her face. But they didn't force faunus into the White Fang against their will. They wanted willing volunteers, so there would be an opportunity to bow out, or to promise to come to another rally without committing to anything. If she could go undetected till then... she'd be home free.

They started escorting the faunus in small groups into the back of the warehouse, where they could talk with them one on one and give them the final pitch for the night. Blake had reached the front of the line, just when the large faunus who'd introduced Torchwick started striding over, looking at her intently.

"Hey... you!" He said loudly as he came closer, pointing at Blake.

/-/

Ruby sighed in frustration as Yang and Pyrrha ran off another bunch of younger, single men who were on their way to Junior's club. Ruby was bored enough to start ranking their attempts. Most common was the offer to take them dancing and buy them drinks. Which, Ruby reflected, was at least an honest attempt. And much better than some of the things she'd heard that night.

Who knew that this corner would be so active? On the plus side, it probably was helping with their cover. It was easier to blend into a crowd, and if they'd been all alone on the street corner the whole time they'd have stuck out like a sore thumb. Or three sore fingers? Ruby tried to find another metaphor that fit better, but before she could come up with anything, her scroll beeped.

In fact, Pyrrha and Yang's scrolls beeped as well. It was a piercing alarm tone like a siren, and Ruby's heart leapt in her throat. "Blake!" Ruby quickly pulled out her scroll and looked at the screen, scanning for the blinking red dot that would show her girlfriend's current position.

The blinking red dot was right next to three black dots. Ruby blinked, then turned around, and Blake was standing there, grinning and holding up her own scroll.

"Well, it looks like the alert function still works..." Blake said with a wink.

"Gah! Blake!" Ruby threw herself at her girlfriend, forcing the larger girl to catch her. "You scared me!"

Yang was shaking her head, chuckling slightly. "OK, that WAS mean..." she chuckled harder.

Pyrrha just sighed in relief. "I am very glad to see you made it out alright."

Blake took a deep breath. "Me too. Someone I knew from the Fang called out to me... I thought I was toast."

Ruby gasped. "What did you do?"

Blake shrugged. "I told him the truth. I couldn't go out with him because I'm already dating someone. He was kind of awkward about it, but I think he'll live."

Ruby sagged. "Oh."

Yang grinned. "I told you the sexy secretary look would work!"

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was sexy librarian?"

Blake sighed. "Yes, yes. The outfit did it's job. She gestured at the rip in the hem. "I kind of ruined the skirt though."

Yang grinned. "I don't know. I think you look better that way."

Pyrrha rolled her eyes but simply smiled at her girlfriend's outrageous flirting.

"Weren't you dating Nikos here?" Qrow asked Yang with a snort from about six feet behind her.

Yang jumped half a foot and whirled around, arms ready to strike. "Damn it!" She snarled. "You just about gave me a heart attack old man!"

Qrow looked unimpressed. "Not so old I couldn't get the drop on you, kid."

Blake's eyes were wide. "How does he keep DOING that?!"

Qrow grinned at her. "Talent. And a whole lot of experience." He sobered. "Now that you've finished with your little covert operation... I think we all need to have a little talk."